For the last week, I've been contemplating what to write about in my NESN.com debut. Last Tuesday morning, I was thinking, "All right, a big Pats win." Obviously, that only lasted a few hours as it was soon trumped by the big Randy Moss trade. Then, Roy Halladay went out and made his ridonculous postseason debut, so I thought, "Eureka!"
That soon died out though, and I was back to Randy Moss. I even woke up in the middle of the night to jot down some thoughts. Of course, the weekend came and went and nothing really sparked, but on Monday afternoon I decided I was sick of the Moss story and honestly didn’t care anymore (by the way, the Patriots are not a better team without him!). So I was back to square one.
But then Monday Night happened. Like many people with a short attention span, I hate commercials but love my sports and entertainment, and therefore found myself constantly flipping through channels. Monday night proved to be a great sit-in-bed-and-eat-chips-and-dip-and-watch-TV kind of night. I had a little bit of everything — I got my laughs watching fat repo people take others' cars, mixed in with more laughs going back to my childhood as I watched grown men in Speedos pretend to fight (WWE). And of course, like any normal American, I had to watch Monday Night Football (and not just for the Moss factor). I have to admit, though, that the bulk of my attention and passion went into watching what most New Englanders consider insignificant: Game 4 of the NLDS between the Atlanta Braves and San Francisco Giants.
As a self-proclaimed baseball junky, I have no problem sitting down to watch a baseball game, no matter who’s playing. Monday night, though, I was emotionally invested in that NLDS contest. For me, if the Red Sox aren't going to win it, then I'm all in for the Braves. I've loved that team just as much as I love the Sox for as long as I can remember — I even had a dog named Chipper.
Although they lost, I had a blast doing the tomahawk chop in search of a Braves rally that never came, but at the end of it all I watched one of my heroes walk away from the game. Bobby Cox is the Atlanta Braves. I know there are plenty of people out there who will say everything from, "he owes it to Glavine, Maddux and Smoltz" to "he only won one title," and so on and so forth.
All I can say to those naysers, is: Learn the game.
His face during his brief curtain call and emotional news conference just screamed discomfort. But I was very happy to see him get the love and respect he deserves. Hey, when the "evil media" gives you an applause, you know you're special.
As for me, I admit I got teary-eyed and now I have to add Bobby Cox to a list of names that includes the likes of Hulk Hogan, Michael Jordan, Emmitt Smith and a couple more of my now-retired "heroes."
Thank you, Bobby!
Oh yeah — congrats, San Francisco.
